Preparation of orthopedic appliances



Aug. 28, 1951 s. COVINO 2,565,758

PREPARATION OF ORTHOPEDIC APPLIANCES Filed Aug. 10, 1950 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/G/ FIG. 4 24 F/G.5 74 FIG] J0 Has J2 F/G.8 J2

' tt/wwu (iii-Y2 Aug. 28, 1951 5,. coymo 2,565,758

PREPARATION OF ORTHOPEDIC APPLIANCES Filed Aug. 10 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

l atented Aug. 28, i951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PREPARATION F on'rnornmo APPLIANCES Salvatore Covino, Medford, Mass.

Application August 10, 1950, Serial No. 178,733

' 6 Claims. (Cl. 18 55.05)

My invention relates to the preparation 0 orthopedic appliances and particularly to molded arch and foot supports of the type which are inserted in the shoe as separate members. Although useful for the relief of divers. foot troubles, I have found that my novel process of preparing foot supports makes possible the production, for the first time, of a support capable of relieving distress occasioned by heel spurs.

While conventionally prepared orthopedic supports have been found generally satisfactory for the treatment of fallen arches andthe like, it ha ev d not pr v u y been possible t p ide a at s a t ry cu h o support a a le o increasing the walking comfort of those persons afi c edwith s boh hhte swth f om t he l oos.

he ost im or a t .obisct f m i v t n i to mp ove t e ual t eih isnc and ran e 9i us of orthopedic supports.

A o r o i of m nv nt n is o odhs an or h d c upp r s h io msd no nly to th pe ul a t of contour of. th sa srfs foo bu also molded accurately to fit the contour v of the o up o g s a 9- a oe a r ad wo or broken in by the subject or wearer.

The mos i ortan ea u e o the h s tio resides in making a male mold presenting the con our of the o t m o th f ot. a i ma i p s t f t u pqri s surfac i th w a s is h and. l a esi i nt and mo ded betw n h o m l an th shoe imn s sish so that it will conform on its lower surface to the contours of th s o a d on i s u per swin t the contour of t e foot.

The objects and features of my invention will be more r ad l und sto d nd app cia ed 19m th fo l w eta e ript on his preferre embo im n he f. selec ed for mh'nsss o illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation illustrating the step of taking the impression .of the subiects foot,

Fi 2 s a p an view o a mo h vin the pression of the foot, 1

Fig. 3 isaplan view of a male mold: cast from the impression,

Fig. 4 is a view in cross section along thev line 4-4 ofFig. 2,

5 is a view in longitudinal section, along the line Tie-.5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is; a. view in longitudinal section through the impression, showing themaleniold,

Figs. '7 and 8' are views in crosssectionalongthe Fig. 9 is a view in perspective through a shoe, portions being broken away, showing the process of forming a mold of the foot supporting surface of the shoe,

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a female impression made from theshoe mold,

Fig. 11 is a view in perspective of the male shoe mo d Fig. 12 is a view in longitudinal cross section through the female shoe impression with the male foot impression and process of forming the orthopedic support, I

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the resulting molded orthopedic support, v r

Fig. 14 is a view in cross section along the line l4- I4 of Fig. 13, and

Fig. 15 is a view in longitudinal cross section through the finished support.

The first step in carrying out the process of my invention is to take a female impression of the foot of the subject or patient. To this end I provide a stool l0 having an integral extension l2 adapted to support the thigh of a patient seated on the stool. I have found that a satisfactory impression cannot be taken if the full weight of the body and thigh is directed against the material of which the impression is made. The optimum condition is that the foot should be partially relaxed, neither carrying the full weight nor being freely suspended.

To secure the desired impression I provide a box l4 having in its bottom a fairly thick layer N5 of cotton batting, sponge rubber or the like. on which rests an inner box 18 containing a quantity of wet plaster of Paris 20. By supporting the thigh of the subject and providing the resilient base 16 for the container for the plaster of Paris I am able to secure the proper pressure on the foot upon the plastic plaster of Paris. After the impression has been taken, the plaster of Paris is permitted to dry hard to form a block 22 containing the female foot impression 24. A thumb tack 26 is inserted centrally in the heel portion of the impression and two other thumb tacks 28 are inserted in spaced relation at either side of the impression adjacent the ball line of the foot.

I next spread Vaseline or other lubricant upon the surface of the female foot impression and then fill the cavity of the impression with wet plaster of Paris which. hardens into a male mold 30 reproducing the contour of the bottom of the subjects foot. In the lower surface of this male mold till-there will be found impressions 26 and 28 from the thumb tacks 26 and 28 which were t in the female impression. I next insert three finish nails 32 into the male mold in the centers of the impressions made by the heads of the thumb tacks. The nails are driven in from the bottom of the mold and are left with about A3 of the head end exposed, it being my purpose to provide spacers which hold the lower surface of the malemold about or from any surface upon which it maybe placed; .2

The next step in carrying out the process of the invention is to provide a female impression made to "accommodate the peculiarities of the subjectsfo'ot, the support is not only effective to provide a suitably contoured surface but is also of the foot-supporting surface of a shoe which may or may not have been worn or broken in? by the subject. After a shoe has been worn by one person for a time, it has imparted to it a char: acteristic contour as the material, particularly the bottom filler, flows in response-to pressures exerted by the subject when walking. To secure the desired impressions I first line the interior of the shoe 34 with a layer 38 of paper over which is placed a layer 33 of cellophane or other thin flexible'material. Into the lined shoe I introduce a mass of wet plaster of Pariswhich is allowed partially to dry and is then pressed with the em gers or with a suitable implement so that it will flow sufficiently to take on the exact contour of the foot supporting surface of the shoe 34. The plaster of Paris mold 40 is shown in perspective in Fig.'11.

I next provide a rectangular container 42 filled with fluid plaster of Paris and press it into the male mold 48, after the latter has been greased to prevent adhesion. The mold 40 is pressed into the plaster of Paris in the container 42 to provide a "female impression reproducing exactly the contour of the mold 40, in other words the contour of the foot-supporting surface of the shoe 34. The female impression appears at 44 in Figs. 10 and 12'.

After the female impression 44 has been per-' mitted to harden, I fit into it the male foot mold 238 during which operation the protruding nails 32 make three small holes in the bottom surfaceof the impression 44. After these holes have been thus located, I drive thumb tacks 45 on the centers thus joined. Then I spread in the female shoe impression 44 a layer of a thermosettingresilient plastic material. Although there are many compositions which will be found satisfactory for the purpose, I have'achieved considerable success with a composition of sawdust, latex, "and glue, the sawdust providing a body and the latex providing the requisite resiliency, while the glue serves' as a binder. This composition is initially plastic but becomes stiff and somewhat resilient when heated. I next place the male footmold 36' into the cavity of the female shoe impression 44 and superpose a pressure plate 58 by means of which uniform pressure is exerted on the up- .per surface of the mold 36. Pressure is slowly applied so that the mold 39 sinks into the cavity and conforms the thermosetting plastic material v 48. Pressure is continued until the nails 32 come 'to rest on the heads of the thumb tacks 46, thus ,spacingthe bottom of the foot mold 30 an average distance of about an from the upper surface of the female shoe impression 44, the thickness of the plastic material 48 of course varying .as'it follows the contours of the mold members.

After the'pressing operation has been accomplished the molds are separated and the thermo- Jsettingplastic piece 48 is removed and baked to set it in final form. Subsequently the member 4Bis provided with a cover 52 of leather or other suitable flexible sheet material.

a cushion serving to protect the foot against painful impact. Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof; I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 7

1. Theprocess of preparing an orthopedic support, comprising the steps of taking an impression of the bottom of the subjects foot, casting a male foot mold from said impression, making a male shoe mold of the inner surface of a shoe worn by the subject, taking an impression of the said male shoe mold, spreading a plastic substance upon the said impression, and pressing the male foot mold into the said impression a predetermined distance to conform said plastic substance to a final shape reproducing on its lower surface the contour of the subjects shoe and on its upper surface the contour of the bottom of the subjects foot.

2. The process of preparing an orthopedic support, comprising the steps of making a female impression reproducing the contour of the footsupporting portion of a shoe worn by the subject, making a malefoot mold reproducing the contour of the bottom of the subjects foot, introducing'a plastic mass in said'impression, and

pressing the said male foot mold into said impression to conform the plastic mass to a support having a final shape in which its lower surface reproduces the contour of the subjects shoe, and

the upper surface reproduces the contour of the bottom of the subjects foot.

3. The process defined in claim 2 wherein the plastic material is thermosetting, and wherein the support is removed from the impression an heated to set its shape.

4. The process of preparing an orthopedic support, comprising taking an impression of the bottom of the subjects foot, casting a male foot mold from said impression, making a shoe mold of the foot-supporting surface of a shoe worn by the subject,making a female impression from the male shoe mold, placing a mass of thermosetting resilient plastic material in said impression of the shoe pressing the male foot mold into said impression a predetermined gauged distance to conform said plastic mass, removing and heating the plastic mass to stabilize its shape, and then covering the set plastic with flexible sheet material.

5. The-process defined in claim 4 wherein a plurality 'of spacers are interposed between the shoe impression and the male foot mold to limit the entrance of the mold into the impression.

6. The process of making an orthopedic support which is characterized by the steps of first reproducing in a foot impression the contour of the subjects foot while the foot is partially relaxed by support of the thigh, then making a male foot mold from' the said impressiomin- 5 shoe mold, filling the said shoe mold with a. thermosetting plastic material, pressing the male foot mold into said plastic material until the spacers contact the bottom of shoe mold thereby forming a support of predetermined thickness conforming in its lower surface to the contour oi. the subjects shoe and in its upper surface to the contour of the subjects foot.

SALVATORE COVINO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Modern Plastics, Stylized Foot Comfort," August 1940, Iii-Anatomical Digest, pages 32 and 33. 

